Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My Spirit Rejoices: Immaculate Mary & God Rests in Reason

{sweet sounds for your Mass and reception}

I fully disclose that my first-ever music suggestion for your wedding Mass might be a little biased. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the official patroness of my college, and at 4 minutes to the hour, the bells at the adjacent National Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes play a number of hymns depending on the season, but most often Immaculate Mary. I associate this simple hymn with knowing I needed to hustle to class, the feeling of comfort and routine I got from the ever-consistent bells, and yes, school spirit. If you have a special devotion to Mary, and especially if you're including a dedication to her during your nuptial Mass, I can't think of a more fitting song for a processional or recessional. What an awesome reminder that to get close to her Son, particularly in your marriage, you have to start and end with her. My school added extra, specific verses (as a result, I must admit I don't have the real ones memorized), but the original is tried and true. I had trouble finding a nice-sounding version to put here, but you know how it goes. The great thing is that it sounds equally lovely with a big organ and choir or with a single string instrument and more spare voices.

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the Lady herself, with St. Bernadette

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﻿ Here, as well, is my first dance pick for today. As first dances go, choosing a song can be super tricky business. I remember wanting nothing mushy, nothing un-danceable, nothing too weird or obscure. And, it had to be meaningful for the two of us and our relationship. Maybe you guys have had a song for ages, which could make things terrifically easy, or maybe not. Or, if you have a song and just want something different for your wedding, here you are with the rest of us. One of ours, for instance, was Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up," which everyone knows, of course, as the laughingstock of the song world and the subject of the highly satisfying prank known as the Rick Roll. Dance floor material? Oh yes. But first dance? I was never gonna say yes to that (I couldn't resist).

Anyway. What I love is the idea of choosing one of your favorite better-known artists and dancing to one of their lesser-known songs. Almost everyone knows Jason Mraz as a clever, usually highly caffeinated-sounding guy. God Rests in Reason couldn't be farther from his typical music. Borrowing lines from Kahlil Gibran's philosophical classic The Prophet, this song speaks to seeing the image and likeness of God in your beloved. With lines like

you may wear a wound that truly spoke to you

Believe in all that voice and follow through...

Love possesses nothing

Nor would it ever be possessed

Love is sufficient unto love

And you can figure out the rest,

how can you not swoon a little? Although Gibran was raised in a Christian family, The Prophet is most often read as New Age spirituality today, which seems a shame. Still, when I read the lyrics to this song I can't really find anything contrary to the Catholic faith, and when Jason sings about being drawn to "everlasting love," it's hard to imagine something other than being drawn to God, who is Love Himself, with your husband. Listen to the song here: